Read about another entry on the list.Silent Murders, by Mary Miley
In this sequel to Miley’s phenomenal debut The Impersonator, the title refers not only to the Silent Era film stars at risk, but also the method of their violent ends—the killer at large appears to be using a silencer. Enter smart, resourceful Jessie Carr, former Vaudeville actress who’s met enough hucksters, schemers, bootleggers, and scoundrels to recognize one when she sees one. (“Hollywood friends,” scoffs Jessie’s confidante and housemate, Myrna Loy. “The sort who come to your parties but not your funeral.”) As a script-girl-in-training on the 1925 set of Don Q, Son of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jessie becomes embroiled in a series of slayings tangentially related to Fairbanks and his generous, powerhouse wife, Betty Pickford. A delicious, unputdownable mystery, Silent Murders is based in part on the real-life killing of director William Desmond Taylor. (For the definitive non-fiction account of Taylor, don’t miss Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood, by William J. Mann.)
The Page 69 Test: The Impersonator.
The Page 69 Test: Silent Murders.
My Book, The Movie: Silent Murders.
--Marshal Zeringue
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